Portraits: Ella

When I conceived this blog, it will be about my travels (mountains, beaches and other places), activities, photography and companions.

I have already several entries on my travels, mountain hikes, and photography and none yet on companions. This time, I would like to start with a dear mountaineer friend of mine – Ella.

Ella is a beautiful lady (I’ll let the pictures speak on her beauty).

I first met her in a Pico de Loro clean up drive she organized. Pico de Loro, being her mother mountain (first mountain she climbed) holds a dear place in her heart, thus, her concern for the accumulation of garbage left by some mountaineers (or let’s just call them hikers and picnickers).

Ella and I on our way to Arayat for a climb.

I didn’t know her at the time but the first time I met her (we rode the same tricycle from the bus terminal to the DENR station) she was already talkative. It felt good talking to her and not very awkward (especially since I’m more of a loner then and not very sociable).

She’s the type of person who you’ll meet for the very first time and by the time she stopped talking, you’ll know a lot of things in her life. But of course this doesn’t mean that you’ll know her completely – there’s so much about her and you can spend several days talking to her and the stories of her life will not be all told yet. I’ve known her for several months already and heard a LOT of her stories but there are still so much to discover about her and her life.

Ella and her cute son, Yeshua, in La Mesa Ecopark.

She is very open with her life, including her marriage and relationships but these are not my story to tell here.

We got close during a climb in Mt. Cristobal (the Devil’s Mountain) she organized. It was supposed to be a dayhike which turned into an overnight one and all 6 of us (Ella, Kyt, Jason, Blezh, Josh and I) felt the bonding that only a bizarre experience can create.

Up close and personal in Mt. Palpag (resting from the climb).

Months of consistent facebook chat, personal discussions and climbs and travels have brought us closer together. We get to tell each other what we think and she’s opened up to me and I to her about things that we don’t usually tell other people.

Ella’s very friendly and she’ll probably win Ms. Congeniality in all beauty contests if she decides to join. (She joined several beauty contests when she was in high school and college and won many).

One special thing I like very much about her is how smart she is. She’s one of the very few persons I would consider an equal. She would talk about things under the sun like world politics, conspiracy theories, ideas, etc. like no average person does.

For all her good qualities, there are of course things I don’t like about her. Fortunately, these are few and seems to have diminished through time.

In Borawan.

She’s speaks her mind too much in facebook (a necessity she says that has become a point of discussion between us) and as a very private person, I think this is too much. She also easily picks fights and arguments in facebook mountaineering groups. Whether this is her fault, others’ fault or just coincidence I don’t know. Thankfully, this has greatly diminished to the point that it almost seems like it disappeared. Her discussion with another guy convinced her that it’s not worth it (after we’ve told her the same thing several times).

Oh, and she never listens to me! She asks for my opinions yet always seems to do the opposite of what I say. Though I know she values my opinion, she makes her own mind and decides on another course of action.

In UP Sunken Garden.

We’ve talked about how we are like twins (like Julio and Julia, twins of destiny). And though I can’t read her mind (like B1 and B2), I believe I know her more than some of her friends know her. I know when she’s quite either she’s tired, sleepy or has a mood coming.

And yeah, for all our faults, quirks and probably mental dysfunctions, we’ve found true friends in one another. Belated happy birthday on the first anniversary of your 30th birthday. To dear Ella, here’s to more years of friendship, climbs and travels together, Cheers!